


Check It

by Host_of_Heaven



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Pandemics, Spring Break, Virus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:54:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23212096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Host_of_Heaven/pseuds/Host_of_Heaven
Summary: After a number of months, just before Spring Break, a viral pandemic has finally reached the city of Vale. While the rest of the city rushes to act on primitive instinct, Weiss and Yang disagree on how to best prepare, Blake thinks they're overthinking it, and Ruby just wants to salvage some good times.Then, Weiss has to reconsider her willingness to be alone over the break.
Relationships: Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 6
Kudos: 65





	1. It Approacheth

**Author's Note:**

> AU supposes Grimm and Salem don't exist.

The door opened, and welcomed in a burst of white light, clashing harshly with the nascent glow coming from the window. A figure strolled inside, garbed in white and exhausted.

Blake stirred and rolled over at the sound of the door gently closing, allowing her sensitive eyes to stay open after putting up a brief fight. She could tell by the dim lighting outside that it was early morning . It was still fairly dark, and the birds had not yet taken to their songs. It was too early, she knew, for the resident Ice Queen to have been out-and-about for the fun of it.

Weiss took off her shoes and disappeared into the restroom with her bag. Minutes passed, and she came out in her sleepwear, letting out a deep, silent yawn. She went over to her bed, and joined their leader in it. Even in the dark, Blake could make out their outlines. Weiss set down on her back, and Ruby embraced her, resting her head on her chest. How cute.

“You’re up early,” the faunas whispered from across the room.

Usually, Weiss was a bit sheepish about her affection for her partner being put on display. Blake supposed it was a testament to her exhaustion that she wasn’t met with a snarky comeback, or a denial.

“More like extraordinarily late” Weiss whispered back.

“That’s not like you, either. Not this late.”

“There were extenuating circumstances.”

There seemed to be a lot of extenuating circumstances in the world recently, Blake thought. She didn’t say it, but she could understand.

They left it at that and went back to silence after a while. Ruby and Weiss cuddled as close as could be, Yang’s snores rang out from above, and Blake buried her face into a pillow. Eventually, she could feel sleep approaching once again, until Weiss brought her back from the brink.

“Blake.”

“Yeah?” she got out, weakly.

“When were you going to leave for menagerie?”

“Later, after the exam.”

“Right, the exam. Boat, or airship?”

“Boat”

“I see.”

Blake waited for her to say something else, but she didn’t.

“Why? What’s up?”

“You should check your email.”

Curious, she grabbed her scroll from the bookshelf, and quickly looked to open her inbox. There were two emails from Beacon Academy, not even an hour apart.

**_Internal Communications <_ ** _internalcommunications@beacon.edu > Fri, Mar 13 at 6:06AM_

 _To: Belladonna, Blake_

_Campus Community,_

_Beacon Academy remains open today, Friday March 13._

_Employees who are unable to report to work because of the closure of local schools or related reasons should notify their supervisors, who will be directed to provide necessary accommodations. Faculty members who are unable to conduct classes should notify students and academic leadership immediately. Students who are unable to attend class should let their professors know._

_The Academy is committed to the health and safety of our community. We are monitoring the rapidly evolving situation regarding the plasmavirus outbreak, working with public health officials, and will continue to provide regular updates to the campus community. We urge you to continue taking preventive measures to promote hygiene and to avoid unnecessary physical contact_

_ Outbreak Updates and FAQs _

_This communication is from Leadership – Official_

_View this email online_

**_beaconsafetyalert@beacon.edu_ ** _< beaconsafetyalert@beacon.edu> Fri, Mar 13 at 6:49 AM_

_UPDATE: Beacon Academy will be closing operations and cancelling classes today, Friday March 13. Disregard earlier messaging. Essential personnel only should work today. Given the rapidly evolving situation, we now believe it is in the best interest of the campus community to close operations. We will provide additional information in the coming days._

“Wow” she muttered, reading the emails to herself.

“Wow, indeed.”

“What changed their minds?”

“Who knows?”

Just then, in a bit of morbid irony, every scroll in the room and dorm hall either vibrated or rang out, rattling against cloth and wood and rousing team members from their slumbers. Blake tapped the notification on her screen, with a big, boldened headline.

 **_Vale Health Officials say Three People Being Treated for PlaVID-N; Beacon and Vale ISD Schools Close for the Day_ **

“It’s here, I guess.”

“It was only a matter of time,” Weiss said, as Yang stirred from her own sleep. On some level, they all knew this was coming sooner or later. If the outbreaks in Mantle and Mistral were any example, things were about to get real scary real fast.

* * *

“That is an absolutely terrible idea.”

“Weiss, just hear me out. We have to beat the lines!”

“I heard you. And believe me, there are far better, more efficient ways to prepare for isolation.”

The surreal thing about living through a pandemic was the sheer panic. Blake had never seen such hysteria over a virus. Menagerie and its biodiversity had their plagues, sure, but it seldom jumped species. This was something else.

They were watching television coverage of the outbreak, and Yang and Weiss were very passionate about the best path forward.

She heard her partner call. “Blakey. Back me up here!”

“Actually, Yang,” she started. “I think Weiss is right. Panic-shopping never helps the less fortunate. Or, the moderately fortunate, for that matter.”

“Are you guys even watching the same news stories? Look at _that_ , and tell me there’s no need to worry!” Yang pointed animatedly at the TV screen. They saw a supermarket – or rather, several supermarkets – in Mantle, bare, and stripped of all but its structural parts. Empty shelves and rationed purchases followed crowded stores and long lines. Some customers were certainly taking way more than they needed.

Blake had to admit – weeks of media-driven anxiety could easily do that to an engaged population.

“I didn’t say not to worry, you hothead. I said not to panic. Going out and buying every bottle of sanitizer, or roll of towels isn’t going to help that thing spread any slower.” Weiss was on her scroll, browsing with a mission. Almost like she was looking for something. 

“Rubes? How about you? Wanna see if we can beat the crowds?”

Ruby must not have heard her. The leader had herself wrapped up in Weiss’s sheets, loudly playing a game on her scroll. Really, Ruby was just happy to be out of classes.

“Alright, fine then. I’ll go. I’ll brave those harsh wilds, and the concrete jungle, against all odds. I’ll stand between this team and the plague. I’m going, and I’ll stand by myself, if I have to.” Yang put on a brave face and struck a superhero pose, set in her ways.

Blake sighed. “Fine, I’ll go out with you. _But_ -” she stuck her own finger in Yang’s face, moving to the door “-we are _not_ cleaning them out of sanitizer and paper.”

Yang sighed back. “Fine. Four bottles, and 12 rolls, tops.”

Weiss managed to shout out before they left. “I better not see a news report of you fighting senior citizens over soap, Xiao Long!”

The only response was the door closing.


	2. Come with Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss gets some disappointing information, and Ruby wants to help.

Weiss watched about the room as her teammates finished their packing. By some grace of the divine, Yang had managed to avoid starting a brawl over soap and paper, and the dorm room was set for the foreseeable future, in part thanks to Weiss’s innocent abuse of her father’s corporate account to order the biggest bottle of hand sanitizer available on the market.

Resource consumption would be especially frugal in the coming week, as Beacon’s student body buzzed excitedly about. Despite the pandemic at their doorsteps, and despite Vale’s request for citizens to minimize travel, most everyone was relieved for the early vacation.

Weiss could understand it, really. Students like Blake must have felt like they’d woken up to a sort of miracle, being able to skip over an exam, straight to spring break. But not everyone had the luxury of returning to a homely environment.

She kept quiet, and tried to look busy while Blake said her goodbyes and took her leave. The faunus wasn’t one to share much about her home, but she was insistent that her parents only ever wanted the best for her. She’d spin short tales of warm tropical nights and bustling, community-oriented days. The stories brought pictures of a place so markedly different from what Atlas had to offer – the people were less isolated from one-another, they knew more about the struggle for the self than the Atlesian socialites ever would, and they were less manufactured in more ways than one. It was easy to see why the residents knew it as a place of belonging.

It sounded nice, all things considered, minus the desert. 

“Welp,” she heard Yang mutter. “Catch you later, Beacon. Sorry, not sorry.” The brawler stretched and hefted up a large bag by the shoulder. Clearly, leaving for the break had her in good spirits. “I’m looking forward to not having to think about you for a week.”

“I’m sure it’ll hardly miss you, in turn,” Weiss quipped.

“You know, I’m sure it won’t.” Yang waved her arm dismissively at the window. “Beacon and I have always had a kind of love-hate relationship.”

Yang shouted at her sister from across the room. “You all ready for the ride?”

Ruby’s heavy bag plopped in front of the bunk beds with a loud _thump_ , with no grace to speak of. “Ready!”

“Then let’s get going! You know Dad’ll wait for us all night if he has to.”

“All right, all right, I know! Just give me a minute.”

Now, nearly a year of experience had given Weiss an uncanny foresight into Ruby’s very forceful hugs. With little warning, the younger girl used her semblance to bolt smoothly off the top bunk, coming straight at her girlfriend below with all the speed and force of a red, albeit loving, bullet. Weiss was grateful that her good sense gave her enough time to prepare, and avoid being completely run over.

Ruby embraced her, hard. They pushed back a little on the bed, but kept mostly upright. “Hey,” she whined.

“Hello.” Weiss hugged her back, and ran her fingers through the gradated hair. “I don’t think this is proper social distancing.”

She was met with a snort and a peck on the cheek. “You didn’t say that this morning, when you cuddled with me.”

“I was effectually deceased.”

“Ahem.”

They turned their heads at Yang, still waiting, practically halfway out of the room. “Yeah, I really don’t need to be here for this. So, I’ll wait for you at the landing pad, sis.”

She made a large stride out into the hall, and shut the two lovebirds inside to themselves.

But Weiss wasted no time, and didn’t allow for a silence to settle. “You do realize, if one of us gets infected, we’ll probably both end up infected?”

Ruby showed exactly how much she cared by kissing her again, this time on the lips. “Worth it.”

They hugged again, giving each other a nuzzle this time. A tangible goodbye. A loud part of Weiss shouted internally to ask her to stay, but it was blatantly ignored. She had no right.

“Hey,” Ruby got in again. This time, there was a greater concern in her voice that her partner picked up on, immediately.

“Hey.” She hugged a little tighter. “Are you alright?”

“I wanted to ask you that, actually.” Ruby gestured to the space around them, not a single thing packed that wasn’t her own. “Aren’t you leaving for spring break? Tell me you’re not planning on staying here, alone.”

“I won’t be _completely_ alone.”

“Weiss.” The way she said her name made it clear she wasn’t buying it. “On a normal year, the dorm would be quiet. With the pandemic, it’ll be like a ghost town.”

Weiss did her best not to wince at the loneliness she knew she’d have to endure for a week. She put on her best attempt at a grin. “Ruby, I’ll be fine, really. It’ll only be for a week.”

A vibration came from Ruby’s pocket, and she pulled the scroll out to check it.

“When you get back, I’ll be here waiting for you. We can even go on a date before classes start. How does that sound?”

There was no answer at first, her girlfriend’s face was trained on the screen, with some expression that was unfamiliar. What was that? Worry? Disappointment?

Just as Weiss was about to ask, Ruby rested her head on her shoulder, and handed her the phone. She skimmed the mouthful of a new email.

**_Headmaster Ozpin_ ** _headmaster@beacon.edu Fri, Mar 13 at 12:20 PM_

_To : rsr1031@eid.beacon.edu_

_Dear Beacon Community,_

_This is to announce that I have decided to extend spring break for students by one week in response to the spread of PLAVID-N (plasmavirus). Classes will resume on campus on Monday, March 30, and students should plan on returning prior to that date._

_The university will remain open, and the additional week of spring break will provide Beacon faculty time to prepare to increase “social distancing” on campus. As recommended by public health officials, social distancing provides guidelines through which individuals avoid group settings and mass gatherings, maintain a safe distance from others and follow good personal hygiene practices whenever possible._

_PLAVID-N represents a serious public health concern. Beacon is committed to the well-being of our community members and to slowing the spread of the plasmavirus, while also supporting our students’ educational goals and the needs of staff and faculty during these challenging times._

_Social distancing will help us accomplish these aims. It will include:_

  * _Shifting many lectures to online instruction._
  * _Reconfiguring classroom space and developing alternative instructional modes for classes that must continue to meet in person, such as laboratories and performing arts courses._
  * _Updating practices in residence halls, dining halls, recreational facilities and libraries to reduce unnecessary contact and promote better personal hygiene._



_We will also examine how to support employees and students who have special health needs or are especially vulnerable to the virus._

_Students, faculty members and staff members will receive more details from the Academy during the coming days. If you have specific concerns or ideas about how the Academy can best implement social distancing practices, please let us know here._

_Students who wish to return to campus as previously scheduled on March 23 will still be able to do so — residence halls, dining halls, health and counseling services and other facilities will be open. Other Academy operations will also continue during the next two weeks and beyond, with the potential for flexible work arrangements that align with our focus on social distancing. Supervisors will work directly with employees to make changes, if necessary._

_In addition to our campus initiatives, each of us must act responsibly for the benefit of our entire community. If you are sick or become sick, you should stay home from work and class and avoid close contact with others. Students who are in self-isolation or are unable to return to campus on March 30 for health reasons should request an accommodation. If you have any concerns that you have been exposed to the virus, please, call Beacon Health Services or your medical provider immediately._

_Also, do remember to take preventive measures and be cautious when traveling and interacting with people during spring break. This includes ample hand washing, and avoiding shaking hands and other physical contact._

_I know this is not the spring break we had expected. This year, March was to be a special month, when tens of thousands would prepare to flock to Vale for the Vytal Festival, and students and community members would look forward to celebrating and enjoying new experiences around the kingdom and the world. I am aware that many of you have had to change your plans, and I appreciate the resiliency you have shown throughout these difficult weeks. We must all come together as a community to make the semester as productive as possible._

_As always, check our website frequently to stay informed._

_Sincerely,_

_Headmaster Ozpin._

_ Outbreak Updates and FAQs _

_This communication is from Leadership – Official_

_View this email online_

On the inside, Weiss’s stomach was dropping. Apparently, the one week of solitude was doubling. Her mind went blank, and her expression was stuck on anxious.

Ruby must have been able to tell. She peppered her head with light kisses to get her attention. “You know what?” she asked.

Weiss looked her in the eyes.

“Forget Beacon. You and I both know two weeks alone would really suck.” She removed herself from the warm lap. “So, how’s about you… come with me, to Patch?”

“To Patch?” It wasn’t as if it hadn’t crossed her mind before. She just wouldn’t dare intrude on so personal a thing as a visit home.

“Yeah! Think about the time we could spend together!” Ruby leaned close, and whispered in her ear. “We could even cuddle in my bed. I know it’s big enough.”

“R-ruby!” Weiss tried to ignore the sudden heat in her face. It felt like it was burning.

“N-not like that! You know what I meant!”

They both took a moment for the embarrassment to subside, and for the heat to dissipate.

Weiss was the first to break the convalescent quiet. “And your father? Wouldn’t he mind if I just showed up, on short-notice?”

Ruby let out another snort, this one more pronounced than the last. “No offense, Weiss, but my dad isn’t like yours. You’ll get along great, I’m sure of it!”

She took a minute to think it over, her concerns not completely at ease. “If you don’t believe I’ll be a burden, then-” she got close again, and put her arms around Ruby’s waist “-I’ think I’d really like that.”

They shared another kiss, spent a few minutes packing some of Weiss’s things, and made their way for the landing pad. They might have missed the scheduled flight, and Weiss might have apologized several times over for the delay, but she more than made up for it by getting them first class seats with the discounted rates. Honestly, she thought they were lucky the flights hadn’t _all_ been cancelled.

Regardless, Weiss was just glad she didn’t have to spend two weeks in an empty dormitory.


End file.
